Episode recorded: February 22nd, 2026 (02/22/2026)

Note: Yes, I made a typo on the thumbnail. And yes some of Brandyn's audio got muted out due to internet connection issue. It was too glitchy that I couldn't hear his explanation. 

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Black history month of February is coming to close and Brandyn of The Most Important Election of Our Lives is back with an Afro-futuristic cult classic movie Born in Flames, directed by Lizzie Borden. It was made during the No Wave Cinema movement right before the indie cinema boom of the 1990s.

What Jay and his animator co-host Ryan Castrillo didn’t expect was the NYC-set movie’s non-conformist storytelling and its surprisingly relevant political theme - and dare to confront the inherent flaws of democratic socialist alternative to then-recent Reagan’s America. To keep themselves warm during the massive blizzard in New York City, each of them share their hot takes and rebel against the conventional opinions (as long as it’s nothing problematic). Jay, Ryan, and Brandyn explore political media with non-conventional aesthetics, animated documentary with lo-fi elements, experimental animation with guerrilla filmmaking elements, and the possibility of animation media that’s rebellious inside-out. This episode was truly born in flames.

Also, check out Hellavision Television’s latest open-call C*NT-A-VISION 2: https://www.hellavisiontelevision.com/open-calls/cuntavision-2-open-call

Intro music: WANDERLUST (Celest3 mix) by Celest3 - https://celest3.bandcamp.com/track/wanderlust-celest3-mix (CC BY-SA 4.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Ending music: Arizona Green Tea by Stuffy Doll - https://stuffydollband.bandcamp.com/track/arizona-green-tea (used it with a permission)

Narrator: Dom Valentini

Audio Editor: Jay Whang & Jessie Hymowitz

Movies, shorts, and works that we have discussed (spoilers ahead!):